Sparks Electrical News April 2019

CONTRACTORS’ CORNER

7

INCOMING DEHN AFRICA MD PREPARES TO PUSH NEW FRONTIERS IN LIGHTNING PROTECTION

CUSTOMISEABLE LED HEADLAMP He explains, “In Madagascar, I was involved in the building of a limestone plant and a power generation plant, neither of which were yet operational. My duties involved the design, installation and commissioning of the electrical reticulation system.It suited me to be hands-on and innovative from an engineering design and installation perspective. The job required me to work in Madagascar for three months at a time and I was then able to come home for 10 days, which worked well for me, as I enjoy travelling and, at the time,did not have the family commitments I do today.” Having worked for the company for some 18 months, Oelofse was invited to join DEHN Africa for its launch in South Africa in May 2013. “My interest in lightning protection froman engineering and scientific perspective meant this was a very positive career T he appointment of Hano Oelofse in October 2018 as the Managing Director of lightning and surge protection specialist DEHN Africa, part of Germany-based DEHN + SÖHNE, is bound to move the company into new arenas and geographi- cal locations. Having spent some five and a half years at DEHN Africa already, Oelofse has risen through the organisation’s ranks, from Senior Technical Sales En- gineer at the beginning of his tenure in 2013, to Tech- nical Manager and then Technical Director, as well as taking on the position of interim MD from April to September 2018. Oelofse, who is passionate about the science and art of lightning protection, is comfortable placing himself at the coalface of the engineering world. Having studied Electrical Engineering at the Central University of Technology, Free State, his early professional career included a stint at AngloGold Ashanti as well as time in Madagascar, where he worked on one of the largest nickel and cobalt plants in the world for an electrical company that provided full turnkey solutions.

Hano Oelofse, DEHN Africa

trajectory during 2019 and beyond. “The DEHN global plan for 2025 has been released globally,” he explains, “and DEHN Germany has exciting initiatives and goals in the company’s drive towards growth. At DEHN Africa we are looking forward to playing our part in the global vision. “One of my particular interests at work is my involvement in building and growing the DEHN Africa Engineering Services department, and the company overall. We have a number of exciting initiatives and focus areas within DEHN Africa at the moment, including the recent launch of DEHNinsure as well as our growing focus on the renewables area,” he said.

step for me. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to become involved with the opening up of the African subsidiary of a fourth-generation, 100-year-old international lightning protection company. “As with my previous job in Madagascar, the requirements of being involved in this new venture spoke to my entrepreneurial spirit and my interests in cultivating an international engineering perspective. At DEHN Africa, we have been involved in working on a number of projects around the world, including within Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia, while in Africa itself we’ve been involved in projects in Madagascar, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana and Namibia, besides South Africa itself, of course.” Oelofse is excited about DEHN Africa’s planned

Enquiries: www.dehn-africa.com

LEDLENSER has introduced a new flagship with the MH11, which for the first time will be controlled using the ‘Ledlenser Connect’ app. The headlamp is posi- tioned at the high end of the product range and, thanks to the app, offers a whole gamut of new functions. These include the ability to set up individual profiles as well as functions such as timer, interval and SOS distress signal. With up to 1000 lumen in Boost mode and 750 lumen in Power mode, the Ledlenser M11 pro- vides considerable light intensity. The MH11 is the first fully customisable headlamp made by the Solingen-based light specialist Ledlenser. With the “Ledlenser Connect” app, the user has a range of new functions at his or her disposal. Users can add up to six functions of the lamp to their individual profiles which, after transfer from the app to the lamp, can be selected at the touch of a button. The timer function has been redeveloped by Ledlenser and represents a milestone in the use of headlamps. Using Ledlenser Connect, time intervals can be pre-set in which the light is switched on and off. Customisable setting options such as slow-dim mean the MH11 can also replace the alarm clock, gently waking up the user with a gradually increasing intensity of light. Users who like to read before bed can use the function to turn the light off after a certain time – ideal for battery-saving use when camping.

Enquiries: www.ledlenser.co.za

SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

APRIL 2019